Hannah Abbott and the Boy with the Toad
by YesterdayTomorrowAndFantasy
Summary: A short, hopefully-to-be-continued story of how Hannah Abbott met her future husband.
1. Prologue

**Hello, all! This is just a little introduction to something I hope will eventually become much bigger. Even though I have so many other things I'm writing right now, this was one of those things I had. to. get. out. Neville Longbottom is my favorite Harry Potter character, and since I'm definitely NOT a Luna/Neville shipper (although I do love Luna) I thought there should be a little bit more back-story about how Hannah and Neville ended up married. **

**Anyways, this is how I imagined their first encounter. I hope you enjoy, I don't own any of the characters or places.**

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><p>Hannah Abbott wasn't concentrating quite as well as she should have. Not that she was very good at concentrating in the first place, she had always been a bit of a scatter brain. "Dumb blonde" they called her in the primary school, which her muggle father forced her to attend. But by tomorrow it wouldn't matter that they called her names or threw stones when she (on accident!) made daisies grow out their ears. In less than twenty-four hours, she would be whizzing right along on the Hogwarts Express.<p>

She absolutely couldn't wait. She hadn't stopped thinking about it since she woke up that morning, although she probably should have. If she had snapped out of her daze for just a moment, she would have realized that she had gotten off on the wrong floor. Her mother, who worked as a healer on the third story of St Mungos, let Hannah bring flowers from the gardens at home to patients. Sometimes she even played chess with them, just to help pass the time. But as Hannah shuffled along, large vase of Umbrella Flowers obstructing her view, she hardly even noticed that she was walking down the corridor of the _fourth_ floor, straight towards the long-term care facility.

_I wonder if anyone else collects chocolate frog cards at Hogwarts. I'm sure they do, maybe even more than me. Or, what if I have the most! _She set down her vase on a table next to a bed and arranged them absent-mindedly. _People would be so impressed, I bet I'd make a lot of friends. Unless chocolate frog cards aren't cool. Then I guess I better hide them in my trunks or something._

Smiling brightly and twisting one of her pigtails, she turned around to say hello to Gregory Demus, who she had been visiting for the past week. Only, the old man covered in purple stripes wasn't there to say hello back. Instead, there was a gaunt face with eyes like saucers staring emptily up at her.

"Oh!" Hannah squeaked, jumping back. Frantically looking around, she finally realize what she had done. On the other side of the bed the women was sitting on was an old witch with an enormous stuffed vulture on her hat and a young, moon-faced boy. He looked both mortified and furious, and as the two made eye contact, a dark blush creeped from his cheeks to his ears.

Panicked, she tried to stutter out an explanation. And then, realizing that there was no way she could talk herself out, she turned around and ran.

As she stood outside the Spell Damage ward catching her breath, she thought to herself, "At least I don't ever have to ever see them again."


	2. Chapter 1: The Sorting

**Hello, all!**

**Okay, so I hate to get your hopes up, but I don't know how often this will be updated. I'm trying to focus on a different fanfiction right now, so it may be a long time before this one gets my full attention. Also, with the introduction of Pottermore, I don't know how far I want to take this yet. I want to make sure everything remains Canon, and I don't want to write a whole bunch only to have new information released.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this little blip. J.K. Rowling owns all these characters, I'm just filling in the blanks.**

**- Y.T.F.  
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><p>Neville couldn't help but feel like this was some sort of sick metaphor. He had accepted early on that he was a squib. While other children began to show signs of magical ability, he remained klutzy, forgetful, and perpetually unlucky. His uncle Algie was determined to scare the magic out of him, leading to many a near death experience and a horrible fear of the ocean. Imagine his surprise when, after being pushed out a widow by Uncle Algie, he bounced!<p>

The toad he was given (as both a congratulations and an I'm-sorry-for-all-those-times-I-nearly-killed-you present) was gone, though. And he couldn't help but wonder if his rare outbursts of magical ability had been taken along with it.

"Have you seen my toad?" He asked, awkwardly peering into a compartment of third years. The group looked from one another, sniggering. "No, sorry."

Down the train he went, feeling more and more helpless and embarrassed with each response. His round cheeks were pink, contrasting with his blonde hair. Eyes watering, he stumbled down the corridor and came face-to-face with _that _girl.

Hannah Abbott's stomach sank. It was that boy, the one she had thought she'd never see again. And there he was, blocking the aisle and looking like he might cry. She nearly blubbered out an apology – sorry that he seemed to upset and sorry she'd walked in on him yesterday.

Neville was facing and even more confusing predicament. She probably thought he was a freak, and wanted to run away. At the same time, he felt like getting angry and saying she shouldn't have gotten so scared. That was his mum, after all, and he didn't appreciate seeing pig-tailed girls run away from her like she was a monster. Or did he just say nothing?

They both latched onto the same hope: they wouldn't recognize eachother.

"Have you seen my toad?" asked Neville, and Hannah sighed. _He doesn't remember me._

"No, I'm sorry. But I'll keep an eye out for it." _She doesn't remember me._

Hannah settled herself into a compartment, but was too shy to introduce herself to anyone. She stared out the window, watching the scenery change. She didn't know at what point she fell asleep at, but when she awoke the train had come to a halt. It was dark out, and the compartment was empty except for herself and a toad, which was looking up at her from her lap.

She let out a yelp and leaped up, spilling him onto the floor. "You're that boy's toad!"

Trevor croaked in response.

Hannah had an idea. She's catch it, bring it to the boy, and then they could be friends. That way, even if he did find out who she was, it would be okay. Bringing back his pet would make up for everything.

"Hold on a second, Mr. Toad. I'm going to take you back to your owner. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She creeped towards him, ready to grab him if he made a move. As he leaped, she dove down and caught him, but just barely. Trevor kicked and squirmed and, just when Hannah thought she had him under control, peed all over her hands. Disgusted, she released him as he escaped through the window.

"Stupid toad!" She yelled, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Hands covered in urine and feeling rather helpless, she stumbled off the train, right in time to see Neville reunited with his pet. "Whatever," she thought. "I don't need to be his friend, anyways." Following the rest of the students, she climbed on board a boat that lead to the beautiful, enchanted castle in the distance. She'd been to magical places before, but this was quite different. She dipped her hands in the water to wash them off, and jerked back, frightened, when she toughed something smooth and jelly-like. A girl sitting next to her whispered, "I wouldn't put my hands in, if I were you. My sister told me there's a giant squid in there."

Meanwhile, in a different boat, Neville was nervous. He held onto Trevor for dear life, having somehow convinced himself his new pet was going to prevent his squibbish side from coming out. He thought of the sorting, and what house he would be placed in. His Gran would be disappointed if he wasn't put in Gryffindor, like his parents. But what if he wasn't placed in any house at all? What if they found out he didn't even preform accidental magic until a couple weeks ago? What if they sent him to a muggle school? He worried the entire way there, hands shaking and shaking Trevor along with them.

Hannah was first to be sorted. "Go into it with an open mind, Hannah," she said to herself as she walked towards the hat. "The hat will know where to put you. He'll know where you'll make friends." She sat down on the stool, and was shocked when she heard the had whispering in her ear.

"Optimistic and caring, almost naively so. Insecure, but don't be concerned, I know exactly where you'll fit."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

She happily scurried towards the Hufflepuff table, and was relieved to find he was right. For the first time ever, Hannah felt at home. One by one, other students were sorted, including Justin Finch-Fletchly, who sat down next to her and struck up a conversation.

They reached the Ls, and Neville stepped up on the stage. He trembled from head to toe, waiting for the hat to laugh and declare him incompetent for any of the houses. The hat took a long time, whispering in his ear and searching through his mind. "Ah, Neville Longbottom. What a curious boy you are. You are living in your parents' shadow, expected to be brave and brilliant. You, however, appear to be very simple. You would fit well with Hufflepuffs, where you will be around people who accept you. However... I see a brave streak. But where will you do best? You would fall in easily with Hufflepuff, but Gryffindor will challenge you and help you grow... yes, I think -"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Neville, so thrilled and relieved to not only be sorted, but sorted into Gryffindor, ran towards the table and was halfway there before he realize he had taken the hat with him. The embarrassment was only mild in comparison to how elated he felt. "Thank you, Trevor."


End file.
